Users report slow Wi-Fi, dropped connections after upgrading to Apple's OS X Yosemite

Posted:
in macOS edited November 2014
Apple's new Mac operating system, OS X Yosemite, appears to have bugs related to Wi-Fi connections, with users reporting slow transfer speeds and dropped signals after upgrading.




Many of the issues are detailed in a growing thread on the Apple Support Communities forums, which as of Friday morning has nearly 80,000 views and 700 replies. The issues appear to apply to a variety of routers and Mac systems, and only began to appear after the Yosemite update was installed.

Readers have also reached out to AppleInsider to note their own issues, most commonly intermittent Wi-Fi connection drops. Users report having problems at both 5-gigahertz and 2.4-gigahertz frequencies.

Some have reported being able to address the problem with a variety of different solutions, including creating a new Wi-Fi service, deleting and reconnecting to a preferred network, turning off Bluetooth, or keeping their MacBook connected to a power source. Still others claim to have had success with more extreme measures such as deleting the Bluetooth.plist or SystemConfiguration, or resetting their system's PRAM, though none of these appear to resolve the problem for every user.

Some posting on Apple's official support forums said they tried calling Apple Care or taking their Mac into an Apple Store to see if a retail "Genius" could fix the problem, but connection issues continued to persist.

The apparent Wi-Fi issues found in Yosemite are joined by Bluetooth problems reported on by AppleInsider earlier this month. In particular, users say that Bluetooth accessories -- including Apple's own Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad and wireless keyboard -- experience lag and stuttering after their Mac has been updated to OS X Yosemite.

Last month's release of iOS 8 for iPhone and iPad was also beset with a number of Bluetooth bugs, particularly when attempting to connect an iPhone to a car's Bluetooth handsfree system. Some of those problems are said to have been fixed by the recent launch of iOS 8.1.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 64



    I don't have dropped connections, but it doesn't respect the network order you set.  It seems to allow traffic to wifi even if it's a lower priority.

     

    I also have a weird issue that i can't see my time capsule unless wifi is turned on, even though I have a wired connection.

  • Reply 2 of 64
    My wi-fi has never been so fast / stable:

    1. Macbook 15" early 2013
    2. iPad Air
    3. iPhone 5s
    4. AirPort Time Capsule 2013 (or something!)

    I've been using Yosemite since developer preview till now!
  • Reply 3 of 64
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,241member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sog35 View Post

     

    I'm experiencing this.

     

    Before Yosemite I was getting 20-30 mbs on Wifi.

    Now I'm getting 1-5 mbs.

     

    I'm using an AirPort Extreme router.

     

    WTF Apple, seriously WTF.


    Have you power recycled your cable/DSL modem (and router) recently? Can you run a speedtest between devices on your LAN and see if they are slow as well? I find my problems are usually related to network issues outside my LAN.

     

    I tested my iMac running Yosemite are the results are consistent. I have an older Airport base station and am hardwired as well. Disconnected enet cable when testing WiFi (one floor below). iPhone is a 5s. My results don't mean you're not having a problem. It just appears I'm not and I'm using an early 2009 iMac. All three tests going to a Comcast server in Seattle.

     

     

  • Reply 4 of 64
    I've experienced these issues on my MBP. Periodically, I have to turn off and on WiFi because it just freezes. Occasionally, I also have to reboot my router. For me, it's acting exactly the same way as the iPad WiFi issues that have been described previously by others. I haven't had any problems with my Ethernet-connected iMac, like another commenter reported.
  • Reply 5 of 64

    I have been having erratic wifi connectivity issues with my iPad Air after upgrading to 8.1. Restarting the iPad seems to work every time, but that's getting to be a bit of a pain. I have no doubt, however, that Apple will issue an update if there is really a problem.

  • Reply 6 of 64
    Given how awesome Mavericks is I always wonder why people don't want a month or two before upgrading.
  • Reply 7 of 64
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member

    I’m not experiencing any WiFi issues and I currently have 7 devices logged into my network

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Disturbia View Post



    My wi-fi has never been so fast / stable:



    1. Macbook 15" early 2013

    2. iPad Air

    3. iPhone 5s

    4. AirPort Time Capsule 2013 (or something!)



    I've been using Yosemite since developer preview till now!



    Of course you are the norm, not the exception. I’m not having any WiFi problems either. In fact things seem better than they ever have been. But you won’t convince the “Google Search Hits” or the “Apple Forum Views” crowd. As they resolve their issues over time they never come back and say, “Oh, it was my neighbor’s network that was causing the issue.” 

  • Reply 8 of 64

    I absolutely agree. Every problem on the internet seems amplified because few come back to report their fix, and the vast majority who don't have the problem don't report.

     

    Does anyone else have a problem when renaming in the finder? When I highlight a file/folder and hit the return to rename it, I get the spinning beach ball for a few seconds. This is happening for both files on the local drive, and files on the network, with the pause being longer on the network, thus it may be tied into this slow wifi issues.

  • Reply 9 of 64
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by johnnash View Post

     



    I don't have dropped connections, but it doesn't respect the network order you set.  It seems to allow traffic to wifi even if it's a lower priority.

     

    I also have a weird issue that i can't see my time capsule unless wifi is turned on, even though I have a wired connection.


     

    This network order issue I have as well. One of my neighbors (and our houses are all on 1 acre, so not sure why it is such an issue) has a linksys open network. Always end up on that, and it is slow. Anytime I notice anything taking a while, I look, and yup, linksys. I've deleted it but it always reappears.

     

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Disturbia View Post



    My wi-fi has never been so fast / stable:



    1. Macbook 15" early 2013

    2. iPad Air

    3. iPhone 5s

    4. AirPort Time Capsule 2013 (or something!)



    I've been using Yosemite since developer preview till now!

     

    I am with you. 

    1. MacBook Pro Retina late 2013

    2. iPhone 6 (though I do experience drops of WiFi here and end up on cellular frequently, and am on the line for Verizon 3G and LTE)

    3. Comcast dual-band wireless gateway (The speed issues I was having were due to my first gen AirPort Extreme n - removed that and am screaming now.

     

    From my MacBook Pro

     

    From my iPhone 6

  • Reply 10 of 64
    rob55rob55 Posts: 1,291member

    I have a 100Mbps service, and was shocked to see I was only getting 15Mbps down following the upgrade to Yosemite on my rMBP. However, after trying a number of different servers, I quickly realized the problem was on their end, not mine. Switching to a number of different servers yielding the kind of results I was expecting.

  • Reply 11 of 64
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    Wifi is still crappy with iOS 8.1 too. Stuff like this is what you should be focused on Tim, not gay rights.
  • Reply 12 of 64
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by johnnash View Post

     



    I don't have dropped connections, but it doesn't respect the network order you set.  It seems to allow traffic to wifi even if it's a lower priority.

     

    I also have a weird issue that i can't see my time capsule unless wifi is turned on, even though I have a wired connection.




    Same here, I find my system connecting to my neighbors router from time to time for no reason.

  • Reply 13 of 64
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    I have been having erratic wifi connectivity issues with my iPad Air after upgrading to 8.1. Restarting the iPad seems to work every time, but that's getting to be a bit of a pain. I have no doubt, however, that Apple will issue an update if there is really a problem.

    Thing is there were wifi issues with 8.0 and they still exist in 8.1. How long does that take to fix. Crappy wifi is not a great experience.
  • Reply 14 of 64
    Since upgrading to Yosemite, I have noise crackling when calling through the computer.

    The fan goes on repeatedly and the battery charging icon doesn't go away.
  • Reply 15 of 64
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post





    Thing is there were wifi issues with 8.0 and they still exist in 8.1. How long does that take to fix. Crappy wifi is not a great experience.



    Mine disappeared. I only have the multifinger gesture issues with my iPad at the moment. (well, that and the crappy Music app, but that's a feature.)

  • Reply 16 of 64
    jmc54jmc54 Posts: 207member

    I had a dropped connection, just did a re start and all was well!

  • Reply 17 of 64
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member

    I've not had any WIFI issues running 8.1 on my various iOS devices. I have a new iPad Air 2, but I don't have a new router yet that is compatible with 802.11ac yet. I will have to pick up one of those routers soon, because who doesn't like speed?

     

    I also have a hackintosh which I recently upgraded to Yosemite, but my WIFI dongle is slow, so I just use ethernet with that, which works out better anyway, because it's way faster.

     

  • Reply 18 of 64
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post



    Wifi is still crappy with iOS 8.1 too. Stuff like this is what you should be focused on Tim, not gay rights.

     

    Why are you so focused on the announcement?

  • Reply 19 of 64

    Gee, when I mentioned this when Yosemite was released (in that article's comments) and mentioned the thread on the Apple support forums, several fabulous AppleInsiders ripped me to shreds, told me I must be a computer idiot (27 years at the job), and worse. So now AI reports it, and it becomes "real". Why bother, man? 

  • Reply 20 of 64
    I just tested my speed at 55mbps it is no different now than prior to.

    Connected, 2 iPhones, iPad Air, MB Air and an iMac

    I will say that last month I had an issue with my MB Air. Every time I connected to my network with the Air it would knockout the internet connection for all other devices including the Air.

    Apple Care could not solve the problem of figure it out. They had me complete a clean install which did fix the problem, but left me with many hours of reinstalling everything
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